By letting accounting students take over the job of one financial auditor, Metropolitan State College saved at least $40,000 and created a unique educational opportunity.

“I didn’t realize how many people are involved in each transaction. There’s so many levels to look at,” said Annika Matlock, one of 27 students who audited five of the school’s administrative offices. “The process is more lengthy than I would have thought.”

In addition to the $40,000 salary savings, Metro State may also find additional savings in the audits, said George Middlemist, associate vice president of administration and finance. That’s money that could help close Metro’s $7.9 million budget shortfall for the 2009-10 year, attributed to a 20 percent cut in state funding. Metro could face another $6 million cut in state funding in the fall.

The students, all senior accounting majors, learned about the auditing process in the classroom last fall and put the knowledge into real-world practice during the advanced class this semester.

The pilot class was open to 25 students. The spots were filled within hours.

Students said the real audits helped them learn how to interact with clients and write professionally.

“You learn you have to say specific things people don’t always want to hear, but in a nice way,” said student Christy Walters. “Wording is key.”

The results of the audits are confidential. Some of the audits were not completed because of the depth of research required.

Still, the students presented their findings, including risk evaluations and recommendations, to the board of trustees at the end of April.

“For us, it’s the same as if an internal auditor had done it,” Middlemist said. “They have recommendations, and it is something we will take seriously.”

Middlemist said the model could someday be used by other colleges. He said Metro’s size helps make the auditing program viable.

“Some schools are so large, they just have to have an auditing department,” Middlemist said. “For us, we’re large enough to need one but small enough that the best we could afford was one person, and that’s not effective anyway.”

Students will continue to audit at Metro next semester, but the class may be offered only to master’s-degree candidates.

“We feel very lucky to have gotten in” to the audit class, said student Christina Redfern. “It’s an experience only we’re getting.”

The instructors overseeing the class said they felt fortunate as well.

“It was the experience of a lifetime,” course instructor Joe Giordano said. “To see them acting and talking like professional auditors now, seeing risks everywhere, I get an immense feeling of pride that you don’t usually get in this business.”

Yesenia Robles was a breaking news reporter for The Denver Post, working with the organization from 2010-2016. She covered education, crime and courts, and the northern suburbs. Raised in Denver, she graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder and is a native Spanish speaker.

More in News

PrAna has always had it out for plastics. The yoga brand in 2010 began shipping more of its clothes wrapped in paper and string, rather than the customary plastic sleeves. But when Boulder passed its Universal Zero Waste Ordinance, requiring businesses to recycle and compost, employees of the Pearl Street store saw opportunity to do more.